The present invention relates generally to a computer remote reset system and in particular to a software independent remote reset circuit. This invention is the result of a contract with the Department of Energy (Contract No. W-7405-ENG-36).
Computer systems based on a common bus, such as S-100, VME, or Multibus .RTM. are widely used in the industry for a variety of applications ranging from control systems to software development stations. In addition, many home and personal computers are based on similar buses. Often it is convenient, and sometimes necessary, to physically separate the system's terminal or terminals from the computer. For example, in a system used for software development or user services the user may wish to have access through the telephone or long distance lines. In control applications, the computer system may be located in a harsh environment and must be isolated from the operator. If the user is near the system, a reset is just a push of the switch. If, however, the user is at a remote terminal or communicating through a telephone link, a reliable reset is difficult to provide.
In some computer systems the operating system software supports a reset from a remote terminal. In many cases, however, the software under development may cause the system's software to crash. As a result, the computer may fail to respond to the terminal, thus rendering the software supported reset function useless.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a remote reset circuit that is completely independent of software.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a stand-alone remote reset circuit that is independent of other system hardware such as the UART or other terminal communications devices.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a remote reset circuit for which a system crash will not affect the availability of a user initiated system reset.